There are known luminometers permitting measurement of the light emitted during chemical reactions in specimens contained in plates, referred to as microtitration wells or plates. Systems have been developed to test specimen samples, such as blood samples for example, with an added reagent to the sample in a cuvette or microtitre plate. The reagent molecules reacts with and bind to certain components in the sample. The remainder of the sample is normally removed and a further reagent such as a base is added to cause parts of the bound molecules to luminesce. The reagent reaction time is normally an important parameter of the testing and incubation within strict time limits is required before a reacted sample is ready for luminescence detection. The intensity and spectral distribution of the emitted light is indicative of the concentration of the sample component being tested for. The light emissions may be fed through a spectral filter before application to the detector. Thus, with knowledge of the type of specimen sample, the type of reagent and the resultant spectral representation it is possible to determine the presence of certain chemicals in the specimen sample. Separate tests may be run with different reagents in the separate chambers to test for other constituents in the specimen. A luminometer detects and quantitates light emission, at the final step in a chemical reaction. The measurement is proportional to the analyte and so it can be used to make quantitative analysis. The advantage of using light (also called chemi-luminescence) is increased sensitivity. This is especially beneficial when looking for tumor markers, certain hormones, and the presence of toxins, contaminants, or drugs.
As is also known, it is desirable to minimize the amount of background light which enters the measurement region of the luminometer. By minimizing the amount of background light from a luminescent signal which is descriptive of a sample's constituent concentration, assay results may be refined.
In many environments, the testing of samples needs to be done efficiently to process a number of samples per hour. Complex systems for processing a large number of samples have been developed, but such systems are costly, large, difficult to use, and not suitable for many environments. It also is also important in acquiring proper results that the system be properly calibrated, and it would be desirable to provide a system which provides self-calibration to ensure proper operation. It would be desirable to provide a system which overcomes such limitations in prior devices.